CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa today released its official enrollment figures for fall 2013. Enrollment numbers are determined on students enrolled through the end of the 10th day of classes. UNI's total fall enrollment is 12,159. This exceeds UNI's budgeted enrollment projection by 359. Officials also report that new student enrollment is up more than 3 percent from last year.

Highlights of the enrollment report include:

- An increase of 3.3 percent in new student enrollment.

- An increase of 1.1 percent in new students direct from high school.

- An increase of 20.8 percent in new graduate student enrollment.

- An increase of 11.4 percent in new international student enrollment.

- Total minority enrollment held steady at 8.1 percent.

In addition, the university reported improvement in its student retention rate. The rate of students returning for a second year is 82.9 percent, which is an increase of 1.3 percent from the previous year. This compares to a national average of 71.7 percent for similar institutions. This year's retention rate is the highest it's been since 2007.

"It's very encouraging that our fall 2013 enrollment numbers are well above our original budget projections," said UNI President Bill Ruud. "As always, enrollment at UNI is a priority, but even more so is our commitment to our students and their educational experience. Our focus continues to be on providing the best undergraduate education in the state of Iowa.

"We're also pleased to see that our efforts to improve retention are paying off. UNI students continue to graduate sooner and with less debt; we had nearly an eight percent drop in student indebtedness during the 2012-13 academic year. We're looking forward to growing strategically over the next several years and meeting prospective students and their families at our Panther Open Houses this fall."